I bought a few packs as gift for overseas friends. Well it's not that amazing if you eat them once awhile. But for overseas visitors, they are more like SG local delicacies. So there's still hype over it. I heard my friend from Macau, he says he always ask one of our friend to bring a few packs to Macau for him.

Crave (better known as a spinoff of the vastly popular Adam Road nasi lemak by Selera Rasa established in partnership with Pezzo Group) is one culinary gold standard much feted by palates of both the ordinary and famous. The multiple award winning brand (including accolades bestowed by Makansutra and The Straits Times) has fed the likes of the Singapore Prime Minister and Indonesian President; even the Brunei sultan swears by it for breakfast. Premium basmati rice is plated piping hot with ikan bilis, fried egg, choice of chicken or fish plus a generous dollop of homemade sambal chilli on the side. Read: orchestrating a potpourri of contrasting flavors - sweet, savory and spicy all at once.

Granted the aesthetic presentation of the nasi lemak dish invokes considerable hunger pangs, more importantly is it so very delectable to warrant the lavish praise heaped upon by so many?

Sampling and thoughts:

The basmati long grains were full of fluff and incredibly fragrant the first time round, then again we were monumentally disappointed during a repeated visit to a different outlet at Orchard Ion shopping mall. Our portion came from a batch which was evidently undercooked, as such we found ourselves ingesting slightly tough kernels. Apparently there is room for improvement as far as maintaining consistent quality of food across all Crave's kitchens are concerned.

The fried chicken wing set featured one hearty wing basted in a sensationally seasoned crisp batter with succulent, moist meat happening right beneath. The chicken cutlet set unfortunately couldn't satiate our carnivorous appetites, as the quantity of breaded poultry (admittedly also most tender and lip-smacking) served leaves much to be desired.